It’s a special occurrence when a theatre get to chat with a playwright. Stephen Karam took some time from his busy schedule to answer a few of our questions about what he’s working on now, and his hopes for getting out to San Diego.  

What are you working on now?

I’m working on a new play called, THE HUMANS. To explain the title might be giving too much away. But suffice to say this is a genre-collision play; it’s a ghost story/thriller…and a family play. I suppose it’s…a family thriller? If Sons of the Prophet looked at the way humans cope with suffering, The Humans looks at the way we cope with our biggest fears, the way we process the big existential horrors of life. I wanted to write a play about human fear that was actually scary. It’s an interesting time to think about what “terror” means to us—we keep hearing the word “recovery” in the news, but I think most Americans are still trying to climb out of this weird black pit of dread and malaise set off by 9/11 and the financial crisis. The production just closed in Chicago. It will open in New York City in September. I hope it lands in San Diego soon…

Have you ever been to San Diego? If not, any plans to visit?

Sadly, my California experiences have been limited to Los Angeles and San Francisco. I would love nothing more than to make it San Diego someday. I love warm weather and swimming in the ocean (and adventurous theater companies like Cygnet), so my hunch is I will be quite happy there! I’m delighted when the characters in my plays make it to cities before I do. I’m proud and thrilled the Douaihys have made it to San Diego.

For more on Stephen Karam check out this article and interview from Roundabout Theatre Company.